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Daily Archives: June 30, 2011

We’ve passed over the Forest Diner a lot, I’m afraid. Its neighbor, the Double T diner, is so big and airy and welcoming, and behind the Double T is Honey Pig, which provides Korean bbq at all hours of the day. For a long time, the Forest Diner was a place that we drove by on our way to other places.

We did finally stop in for breakfast (I love diner breakfasts) one Saturday morning. The exterior of the diner is old and worn, and the interior pretty much matches it; lots of scratches on the wood and tiles, very faded fabrics, with a real diner car in front. You feel like you’re going back in time when you walk in there. The woman who worked there was very friendly, and brought us menus right away.

For breakfast I ordered eggs, corned beef hash, and grits. The eggs were nicely done (over easy with runny yolks, just the way I like them) and the grits were buttery and delicious, but the corned beef hash obviously came straight from the can — it was still in a circular shape, and had merely been browned on the outside. Next time I’m getting another type of protein. K, on the other hand, was delighted with his crispy home fries and his creamed chipped beef. People, you have never seen such a huge pile of creamed chipped beef.

It was tasty, too.

We went back another evening to try the fried chicken, which the sign outside proudly proclaims to be the world’s best. I had my doubts, but we ordered the four-piece meal: thighs, legs, and wings with two sides for $10.99. Incredulously, I asked the waitress if we could get any four pieces for that price: say, four thighs? She said we couldn’t get four thighs, but we could get two thighs with a leg and a wing, so we did that.

One of the thighs was a bit shriveled, but the chicken was still wonderfully delicious, with crispy, flavorful skin and moist flesh inside. The dark meat was definitely better than the white meat, which was overcooked and slightly dry. We split the meal between the two of us. It’s a pretty good deal when two people are happily fed for $10.99.

Apparently they’ll only be open for a couple more years, so definitely stop by and try the fried chicken if you can. Just be sure to get the dark meat.